Washington, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) today welcomed the appointment to the Commission of Anurima Bhargava by Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA). Currently founder and President of Anthem of Us, Bhargava is a civil rights lawyer with extensive experience in various roles advocating for members of underrepresented communities, including at the U.S. Department of Justice and the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund (LDF).

USCIRF welcomed the State Department designation of 10 countries as "Countries of Particular Concern," including, for the first time, Pakistan. USCIRF's press release may be found here. The State Department announcement may be found here.

USCIRF released a special report examining laws in South Asia that limit the ability of religious groups to proselytize and the freedom of individuals to convert to a different religion. Click here for more.

USCIRF’s Survey of 2017-2018 Saudi Middle and High School Textbooks reviews 22 middle and high school textbooks published by the Saudi government for the 2017-2018 academic year. Click here for more.

During the week of the Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom, USCIRF hosted two events. Click here for more.

WASHINGTON, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) today condemned in the strongest possible terms the terrorist attacks on Al Noor Mosque and Linwood Mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand.
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WASHINGTON, DC – Andy Khawaja, Commissioner on the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), today announced, as part of USCIRF’s Religious Prisoners of Conscience Project, his adoption of Robert Levinson, an American of the Jewish faith who disappeared in 2007 and is believed to be held captive by the Iranian government under suspicions of espionage.
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Religious Prisoners of Conscience Project

USCIRF's Religious Prisoner of Conscience Project highlights individuals imprisoned for exercising their freedom of religion or belief, as well as the dedicated advocacy of USCIRF Commissioners working for their release. Please click the photos below for more information on the prisoners, and the Commissioners' efforts on their behalfs.

Prisoner of Conscience List

Tweets from @USCIRF

USCIRF Focus: Blasphemy Laws

Respecting Rights? Measuring the World’s Blasphemy Lawscatalogs the offending laws found in a wide range of countries. In some countries, blasphemy laws are enforced weakly, if at all, yet such laws, “in both theory and practice, harm individuals and societies.” The report details laws spanning the globe from countries such as Canada and Switzerland to Iran and Indonesia with penalties ranging from fines to death. Surprisingly, more than one-third of the world’s nations have blasphemy laws today.

Selected Blasphemy Casesseeks to put a human face on blasphemy laws. The individuals highlighted here are only a sample of those who have been negatively impacted by blasphemy laws. For some we have pictures, but for many we do not. Read their stories, the charges against them, and their sentences to better understand the devastating impact of these laws and the need for repeal.

Women and Religious Freedom: Synergies and Opportunities

While a common misperception persists that women’s rights to equality and freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) are clashing rights, the two are actually indivisible and interrelated, as shown in Women and Religious Freedom: Synergies and Opportunities. FoRB is neither a right of “religion” as such, nor an instrument for support of religiously phrased limitations on women’s rights to equality. Harmful practices affecting women and girls cannot be accepted as legitimate manifestations of FoRB because the assertion of one human rights claim cannot be used to extinguish other rights.

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On April 18, 2018, U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) hosted a summit commemorating the 20th anniversary of the passage of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 in Washington D.C. The summit included a plenary to discuss the “State of the Union” of international religious freedom followed by two panels featuring distinguished guests discussing strategies for achieving positive change for religious freedom and prisoners of conscience around the world.

WASHINGTON, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) today applauded the release of Abdul Shakoor, an Ahmadi Muslim who had been unjustly imprisoned since December 2, 2015. Shakoor had been adopted by Commissioner Johnnie Moore as part of USCIRF’s Religious Prisoners of Conscience Project.